Families break bread for Christmas

Warm hearts

Photo by Bryon Johnson

Emily Supino and Deanna Regalado, employees at the Canadian Tire Supply Chain, serve turkey dinners to Steve and his son Nicholas, at a dinner by Regeneration Outreach Community at Grace United Church.

Christmas spirit

Photo by Bryon Johnson

Stephanie Regalado and her mom Christine prepare turkey meals for the clients of the Regeneration Outreach Community at Grace United Church.

Regeneration Outreach Community’s annual Christmas dinner not only gave dozens of people a warm meal, but it also gave them a taste of the season’s cheer.
More than 100 individuals showed up to break bread at the Grace United Church recently. The dinner was all about “the joy of those we served and the joy of those who did the serving,” said Ted Brown, executive director, Regeneration Outreach Community.
“My favourite story of the night... one man, who has been homeless for 11 of the last 12 months has been fighting some serious depression as his father died about six weeks ago,” explained Brown. “There was a band playing and this man began to dance. He danced all over the hall. I saw him this morning and he was so thankful for the dinner. He was so thankful for the joy that it brought him....”
The annual Christmas dinner is tradition that goes back to few years. This year, volunteers, served a traditional turkey dinner with potatoes and carrots.
Regeneration Outreach Community, which delivers services and programs to alleviate issues of poverty, homelessness and unemployment, served 21,281 breakfasts on week days between January and October this year. Starting next week, it will provide breakfast on the weekends as well.
The demand for services offered by the agency continues to grow steadily. This year saw a staggering 20.6 per cent increase in the number of people using the agency’s many services as compared to the previous year, said Brown.